Independent East Hyde Park Grocery

serving fresh produce, dry goods, beer and wine

Kilgus Farmstead Milk

You may have noticed that Grass Point is no long our milk of choice. That’s because they’ve sadly gone out of business (though we hope to see them rebound soon). The happy end of this situation is that we now get to stock Kilgus Farmstead milk, which we are also very fond of. You may have tried their half & half and heavy cream we stock.

Kilgus Farmstead is one mile from Fairbury, IL. The Kilgus family has been raising Jersey cows since the 90s (they began in the 50s with Holstein cows). Seven years ago they switched to a pasture-raised model, so all their cows are grass fed. No chemicals are used on the pasture, and all the cows are hormone-free. (But Kilgus is not certified organic.) Antibiotics are used only in cases of sickness, and then the cow’s milk isn’t used during treatment and for a period of time afterward. And they bottle their milk at their on-site creamery. So the level of quality and freshness is there – plus their milk is affordable (comparable to Grass Point Farms milk at $3.75 / half gallon). Then why haven’t we been stocking their milk all along?

Kilgus milk is not homogenized. In non-homogenized milk, fat separates from water and collects at the top – which is why there is a big SHAKE WELL sticker on whole and 2 % Kilgus milks. Homogenization is an aesthetic process that does not influence nutritional quality of the milk. Producers usually homogenize milk for a few reasons: customer preference, the ease of combining different herds’ milks, and a much longer shelf life, making possible a wider distribution. We stocked Kilgus milk in the past, but most of our customers were unfamiliar with non-homogenized milk and a great confusion ensued! So we gave up. People thought it was spoilt, or that it hadn’t been pasteurized – while Kilgus milk is not homogenized, it IS PASTEURIZED, and entirely safe to consume before the expiry date!

But we’ve decided to try again! This time, with more information. And we hope you’ll like Kilgus milk as much as we do. Just remember to shake it well if you try it!